The Filmmakers

Jody Abramson
Co-Producer

Ms. Abramson has worked on documentaries for more than 10 years. She served as coordinating producer of the ABC-TV miniseries, Lincoln, and in the same capacity for two HBO documentaries, JFK: In His Own Words and the subsequent RFK: In His Own Words. Abramson also participated in the PBS special, A Search for Solid Ground: The Intifada Through Israeli Eyes; was associate producer of Bill Moyersí God and Politics: The Battle for the Bible; and was series associate producer of ABC-TVís weekly historical documentary series, Our World. A Minnesota native who resides in New York, Ms. Abramson holds a Masters in Journalism from Columbia, and a Bachelors in Political Science from Brown.

Michael Kantor
Co-Producer

Prior to working on THE WEST, Michael Kantor worked with Stephen Ives on Lindbergh, and they have since collaborated on Cornerstone, a new Insignia documentary now in post-production. Trained as a theater director, Kantor previously worked in various capacities in regional theaters across America, on tour in Europe, and as a guest director in NYUís graduate Music Theater program. As a freelance writer, Kantorís articles have appeared in American Theater, Newsday, Theater Week and Interview. He holds an MFA in directing from the University of California at San Diego, and a BA from Cornell.

Buddy Squires
Cinematographer

An accomplished and award-winning cinematographer, Buddy Squires was one of the original co-founders of Florentine Films in 1976 and has been the cinematographer of nearly all of Ken Burnsís films since. In addition, Burns and Squires share producing credits -- and an Oscar nomination -- for The Statue of Liberty. Squires has also photographed dozens of additional documentaries, including The Donner Party, Compassion in Exile: The Story of the 14th Dalai Lama, Chimps: So Like Us and Coney Island. Squires recent directorial debut, Listening to Children: A Moral Journey with Robert Coles, was broadcast on PBS in the fall of 1995 and received a Crystal Heart at the Heartland Film Festival and honors at the New England Film Festival. In all, Buddy Squires has filmed six Academy Award-nominated productions. Nine films have been nominated for Emmys and five have won the award. His personal honors include three Emmy nominations and one Oscar nomination, all for cinematography, as well as an Eric Barouw Prize and a Christopher Award.